Star doesn't quite shine

The Class A All-Star Game between the California League and Carolina League on Tuesday was the biggest baseball game Stockton has seen.

The Class A All-Star Game between the California League and Carolina League on Tuesday was the biggest baseball game Stockton has seen.

Everyone who went to it got to be a part of local history. The Ports ownership and staff really put on a great event at Stockton Ballpark.

As a season ticket holder and lifelong Ports fan, I was dismayed to see only two members of the Ports in the game.

With that in mind, like everyone else who follows the team, I bought into the Anthony Recker hype.

The sold-out crowd roared for Recker every time he came to the plate, and we cheered him when he kissed the Playboy beauty queen.

He was our representative on a big Class A baseball stage.

After the game, my wife and I went down to the end of the first-base line with other diehards and autograph junkies.

My wife had a monogrammed all-star baseball, and the guy next to us had a foul ball hit by Recker.

When Recker came by, he snubbed us all. He gave a wave-off, finished his interview with a writer and never gave the fans a second glance.

Snubbing adult fans to sign a kid's ball is fine with me. Snubbing all the fans isn't. Recker should take a few lessons from past players like Landon Powell, Eddie Cornejo, Luke Appert and current Port Tommy Everidge: Humor the fans a bit with some humility and appreciation.

I'm a fourth-generation Ports fan. I love my team and always will be grateful to the players who give us a chance to thank them for the happiness they bring us.

Charlton A. WimberlyStockton

***

The Record did a good job of covering the California League-Carolina League All Star Game in Stockton.

Patrick RileyStockton

» NOTE: A sell-out crowd of 5,064 saw the Class A California League All-Stars defeat the Carolina League All-Stars 10-5 at Stockton Ballpark Tuesday night. Anthony Recker, one of two Stockton Ports who played in the game after hitting .319 with 13 home runs in the first half of the season, finished second in the home-run derby. Recker, a 23-year-old catcher from Allentown, Pa., doubled and scored a run in four at-bats as the California League's designated hitter. After the game, the Oakland Athletics promoted Recker to their Class AA Texas League franchise in Midland, Texas.

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